Wire-drawing machine



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE e. BLAKESLEE, OF wA'rERnURY, connnorienr.

wiRE-oRAwme MACHINE.

s-rncrrrca'rrorr forming part of 1...... Pstentlil'o. 382,861. dated May 15, was. Application flied October 20, 1851. S... No. 252s. (No mndeLl To a. whom it may concern:

Be itknown that LGnoReE e. ntlnEsLEE,

of Waterbury, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement; in Wire-Drawing Machines, of which the. following is a specification.

Heretofore the drawing of wire has been conducted in a rather crude manner, as compared with the state of perfection to which other manufactures have advanced. There has commonly been no-traverse for laying the wire uniformly across the length of the drum or'reel upon which it is taken up after each drawing operation, and an attendant'has had to be constantly on hand to stop the machine- "in case of the wire breaking or running-out.

The object of my invention'is to render the machine more automatic in its action and to overcome the defects above named, and

particularly to provide for the repeated drawing of wire in large coils, oftenmuch more than one hundred pounds in weight, without great labor in lifting the wire.

The invention consistsi'n novel combinations of parts hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the claims, whereby the desired results are secured.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure I is a plan of a machine embodying my invention,

and Fig. 2 is a. side view of such machine.

Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in both figures.

Referring first to the machine proper, A des- 5 ignates a winding-drum on which the wire is wound snfiioiently to give the wire such a hold upon the drum or wheel as will snflice for drawing the wire through the die a. This drum or wheehwhich is mounted upon a shait, 0 A, is operated by suitable gearing and powertransmitting, devices. As here represented,

B is a counter-sheila, which,by means of spinioh, b, and a wheel, 6', is geared with the shaft L',soas todrive it etc. reduced speed and with "5 proportionately greater power. Upon the counter-shaft B are fast and loose gi illeys 'B B, which receive a driving-belt, After the wire is drawn through the die a from the winding drum or wheel A, it toatskeup drum .or reel, 0, on which it is wound. The

axis or shaft 0 of this drumor reel is fitted to a suitable bearing, 0, in a standard, 0, at one end, and at its opposite end is shown as slipped into a socket, c, in a driving disk or plate, C, which is upon a shaft, 0, for driving the reel or drum 0. The shaft 0 is mounted in sta tionary bearings c, and the plate or disk 0 is shown as provided with a locking pin or bolt, 0*, which may be inserted in one oi several hole's'in the head of the drum or reel 0, in order to drive the same. I have represented the bearing 0 as open on the rear side,as shown best in Fig. 2,2and the reel-shaft G is secured in said bearing, as here shown, by a lockingpin 0. When the reel or drum 0 has been *filled to the requred degree with wire, it may be removed by taking out the looking-pin. e and the bolt or pin efiwhich drives it, and then swinging the shaft 0' laterally out of its bearingc; or,,if desired, the axle or shaft 0 may be loose in the "reel or drum 0, and may be withdrawn lengthwise therefrom when it is desired to remove the reel or drum.

In order to lay the wire (designated by the letter a) uniformly across the length of the reel or drum 0, said wire is conducted through a fork or guide, d, upon the horizontally-re eiprocating traverse-bar D. This traversebar D is fitted to suitable guides or bearings, d, wherein it may be reciprocated,. and, as here represented, the reciprocating motion is imparted to the bar by a cam, D',which is-on ing or between bearings d upon the-bar D. As here represented, the cam-shaft D is operated from the take-up drum-shaftC through a worm, d, and the worm-wheel d; but the traverse-bar D may be operated by other mechanism. Upon the shaft 0 is a pulley, C, which reeeiv a belt, 0', driving from a pulley, B, upo the counter-shaft B, and this belt should rotate the shaft C and the takeup drum or reel (3 at a speed which will always be suflicient to take up the wire s as fast as delivered from the winding-drum A; and as the drum 0 increases in size, by reason of the wire wound upon it, the driving-belt C will slip, but will always drive the drum at a speed to insure the wire being kept taut between the a diagonal shaft, D, and operates in a bear- The wire 8 is taken from a reel, 0*, placed at a little distance to the right of the machine in the drawings, and which may be a duplicate of the takeup drum 0, which is positively driven. The shaft-O of the deliverydrum 0* is fitted to bearings c in small standards O, and, ashere represented, such bearings are slotted at the back, so as to permit the removal of the shaft 0 from them when desired, and the shaft is held in the bearings'gby lock- 1ngpins c. The drums C and 0* are'interchangeable, and after the entire length of wire has been unwound from the drum 0* and wound upon the drum 0 they are reversed in position, the drum (1* being placed in the bearings, which are now occupied by the drum 0, and the wire 13 again subjected to a drawing operation and rewound upon the drum 0*.

A lubricant is usuallyappli'ed to the wire 8 before its passage through the die a, and I have here shown a trough or box, E,forlubricant, and guide-rollers e, whereby the wire 8 is ptroperl y directed to pass through the lubrican Obviously when the driving-beltB is shifted upon the loose pulley B the driving drum or wheel A will no longer be rotated and the ma -chinewill be stopped, and consequently the belt B may be considered as a shifting driving device. For shifting the belt I have represented a shipper consisting of a sliding bar,

F, having a fork or loop, f, fora belt, andit is fitted to slide in suitable guides, f. In order that this shipper shall operate automatically when released, I employa spring, f, for moving it in a direction to shift the belt Bfrom the fast pulley B onto the loose pulley B, and I employ a locking-bolt, f or catch for engaging the bar F and holding it with the springnnder tension and in a position for the beltB to run upon the pulley B. This locking-bolt or catch is shown best in Fig. 2, and it isobvious that when the-catch f is withdrawn the shipperbar F will be movedin the direction of the arrow thereon by the sprin f and will shift the belt to the loose pulleyi, 'In lieu of the spring 1, I may employ a weight, 'f, connected by a cord or chain, f, with the bar F, as shown by dotted lines'in Fig. 1, and it is obvious that this weight for shifting the bar hautoinaticallyin onedirectioni's in the combinati nin which it is used the full equiva lent 0 the spring f.

In order thatthe breaking or running out of the wire 8 shall automatically shift the belt B, I employ a bearer or roller, 9, which rides upon the wire, as shown in Fig. 2, and which is here represented as carried by a lever, G, which is fulcrumed at g, and hasits opposite end connected by a cord or chain, 9, with the catch or locking-bolt f When the machine s in operation, the catch or locking'bolt fis in engagement with the shipper-bar F, and the roller or bearer g is sustained by the taut wire 8; but as soon as the wire breaks or runs out the roller .or bearer g and the lever G .by which it is carried, drop, drawing the catch or looking-bolt f out of engagement with the shipper-bar F, and. thereupon said bar is shifted by the springf or equivalent weight to shift the belt B to the loose pulley B and stop the machine.

In starting the machine, the end of the wire pass through the die a, and is then grasped by any ordinary tongs or devices attached to the winding-drum A. As shown in Fig. 1, I may employ a pair of tongs or nippers, H, attached by a chain, h, to the drum A. I The machine is' then operated until the wire is, wound. several times upon the drum A-that is, a sufficient number of times to give the drum a hold upon it by the friction of its coils thereon, and its end is then passed through the traverseguide 01 and to the take-up drum 0. The end of the wire may be secured in y the take-up drum 0 by insertion in a hole or notch in the drum, as is usual, and when this has been done the tongs H may be removed from the winding-drum A and the drawing operation proceeded with until the entire length of wire has been passed through the die a.

' is first reduced in size, so as to enter and just I am aware of United States Patent No.

319,556, dated June 9, 1885, and also of Ger man Patent No. 35,443, dated October 8,1885, and do not seek to include in my invention anything shown and described in'jthem'. The mounting of the delivery drum onfreel 0* and take-up drum or reel 0 interchangeably in their bearings is very important, because after the wire has been unwound from one and drawn and wound on the other they havesimply to be reversed in position and-the wire again drawn and wound on what was the delivery'drum in the previous drawing operation. The full reel or drum 0 may by the aid or inclined skids be rolled out of its bearings and transferred to the bearings, now holding the delivery reel or drum-0* by a mere boyand without lifting.

In drawing wireeby my machine I do not lift the coil of wire from thetake-up drum and transfer it to a drum or rotary reel, from which to again pass it through the die, as is usual in drawing wire; but I make the delivery and take-up drums or reels interchangeable in their bearings, and thus provide ,for readily handling very. heavy coils of wire.

What I claim as my invention, and'desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- V '1. The combination, in a wire-drawing ma.- chine, of a delivery reel or drum, 0*, from which the wire'is taken, and a take-up reel or drum, 0, bearings wherein said reelsoi' drums are interchangeably supported, so that they may be changed one for another at each drawing operation, a die through which the wire is drawn, a winding-drum, A, whereby the wire is drawn through the die and fromwhich the wire is taken by the takeup reel or drum, and 'a slipping driving device for the said take. up reel or drum, substantially. as herein described. v

2: The combination, in a wire-drawinglma chine, of a reel or drain from which-the wire is taken, a die through which the wire is drawn, a winding-drum, a take-up drum or reelfor the wire, and a traverse-guide, and

mechanism, substantially as described, for reciprocating said guide, substantially as herein set forth.

'3. The combination,

in a wire-drawing ma chine,

of a reel or drum from which the wire is taken, a die through which the wire is.

drawn,-a winding drum of reel, a take-up drum or reel and slipping driving mechanism for operating it, a shifting driving device for the winding-drum, a shipper operating automatically when released to shift the driving de- Vice, a catch for holding the shipper retracted,

and a bearer riding on the wire and connected for driving the with the catch to withdraw the latter when the bearer falls, substantially as herein described.

4. The combination of the delivery drum or reel 0, the box E for lubricant, and its guiding-pulleys, the winding-drum A and gearing same-the reciprocating traverse-bar D, the takeup drum 0, the belt-shipper F and its actuatingspring or equivalent weight, the catch f and the stop-motion" lever G, supported by the wire and connected with the catch, substantially as herein described.-

GEO. G. BLAKESLEE.-

Witnesses:

' C. HALL,

FREDK. HAYNES. 

